Exclusivity and Diversity in Publishing

Posted on March 23, 2011 in Uncategorized

Writing this against the backdrop of book publishing and multiculturalism, we publishing minions might believe we’re attuned to the sensitivities of cultural respect in the workplace, but I’d like to first invite you to sit back and think about the following questions:

When you visualise your workplace, do you feel as though it is one of diversity or exclusivity?

Is your office full of different cultures and traditions, with each person sharing what they bring to the table from those cultures?

Or, for just a moment, when you peek above that cubicle of yours (where the real business of checking proofs, managing costs and preparing marketing packs gets done) do you notice that many of your colleagues look just like you?

Questions like these aren’t often addressed in our industry, yet many of us have some involvement in the creation of books covering diversity, equality and cultural relations every day; admittedly exclusivity and diversity in publishing is a touchy subject.

But on 15 March, at Oxford Brookes University, the door to this topic was opened a little further with SYP Oxford’s monthly speaker event focusing on ‘Exclusivity and Diversity in Publishing’.

The panel discussion featured four different views on the topic and revealed not only some much-needed reality-checks, but some useful ideas and talking points the lecture theatre audience could take back with them to their respective workplaces (should they choose to).

The Panel

Mr. Bhavit Mehta, Publisher at Saadhak Books, Mr. Dele Fatunla and Ms. Unber Sheikh from Pearson, and Ms. Suzanne Kavanagh of the industry-advice body Skillset provided their own perceptions on exclusivity and diversity, and, if the audience’s reaction is anything to go by, they did a thorough job of bouncing off each other’s opinions. Moderated by Brunel University lecturer, Celia Brayfield, the underlying theme was the under-representation of different cultures in today’s publishing environment.

An ‘Echo Chamber’?

Entrance into the industry (as many of us know) isn’t easy: it boils down to who you know; the work experience you may have to fight tooth and nail to get (and even do without payment, which by the way you should always be up front about); or if you’re fortunate enough, you’ll be the son/daughter/niece/nephew of someone who already works in the industry (and that can provide an incredible boost to the start of your career) with Brayfield making the last point crystal clear in her introduction.

What these above points boil down to is the idea of an ‘echo chamber’, Kavanagh explained, presenting the fact that well-meaning managers want to employ someone ‘exactly like themselves’. This isn’t to say that the predominately white working population in publishing is solely-based on skin colour, but a wish to see the passion and interest they themselves hold for their books and their industry. And yes, sometimes the middle-class structure a lot of us may have been lucky to come from or aspire towards can have an impact.

Securing that first job in publishing is getting difficult, not only for these reasons alone, but also because of the increased competition in the workforce and the current economic situation here in the UK and around the world.

‘[But] are we educating the industry enough about exclusivity and diversity?’ asked Mehta, at times playing the much-needed Devil’s advocate during the discussion. The representative make-up of the industry, added Mehta, isn’t diverse enough in some sectors.

Results of Skillset’s survey

Supported by the facts of Skillset’s 2009 survey on the labour market, Kavanagh confirmed Mehta’s assertions: 94% of those working in the publishing industry are from white ethnic groups.

With data compiled on the make-up of the creative media industries (including TV, radio, film and publishing), Skillset presents the facts specifically for the publishing sector, covering the challenges it faces in training, skills-qualification and ethnicity.

The full report available on the Skillset website reveals some disproportionate hiring practices: people from white ethnic groups are more likely to fill managerial roles than those from non-white groups (23% compared to 18%), and non-white groups are more likely to be employed in administrative and secretarial roles: 17% compared to 12% accordingly.

However, the report does state that ‘having the appropriate numbers of people from minority groups employed… does not necessarily mean that there is appropriate diversity, as the quality of the jobs that they perform must be taken into consideration.’

The majority of publishing in this country can also be found in London and the South East (something the industry shares with the rest of the creative industries) and a commonly held, but false, argument is that the current levels of ethnicity in the industry reflects the wider working population of that area.

Fatunla was quoted in The Bookseller in 2008 saying that ‘London is possibly the most culturally diverse capital in Europe, yet when you walk off the streets and get into publishing companies, they don’t reflect that at all … We need to foster a culture that is more open and able to include people.’

Pearson Diversity

Managers of large publishing jobs are obviously concerned about the insufficient diversity in their work force and have put initiatives in place. Fatunla added on the night that Pearson PLC is one such company leading the way by example.

Sheikh described how she began her career at Pearson PLC, which was an opportunity that wouldn’t have been possible if she were from a white ethnic group. Born in Britain, Sheikh was one of the recipients of the scholarship that Pearson has awarded to applicants each summer since 2001. The internship programme funds and trains candidates for six weeks in one of the corporation’s holdings (Penguin, Pearson Education or Edexcel Learning).

She described that her experience in the workplace has been a positive one, and led to her full-time post at Pearson Education, but culture isn’t a topic that is regularly discussed.

As the discussion continued, the topic of diversity didn’t only extend to skin colour or regional-hiring practices within the UK, but also to disability and the considerations, or attitudes, that are present in the hiring of women who may choose to have children in the future.

Publishing in the UK will need to progress its hiring practices if it wants to attract the top talent in the world to its shores, and that needs to begin at the highest level possible. Trade bodies, such as the Publishers Association and the Booksellers Association, are doing a positive job of endorsing different company’s programmes, but what about enforcing them?